Delivery & Onboarding

Begins exactly where the Front-End Operations Playbook ends (Stage 7, Handoff to Delivery). Assumes the SOW already fixes build length, milestones, client responsibilities, the locked Managed Infrastructure Start Date, and the delay clause.

Who owns delivery

Derek is the client's point of contact from kickoff onward and owns client communication during the build and beyond. Clinton makes the explicit relationship handoff to Derek and stays involved as commercial owner (pricing on change orders, escalations). The dev team (Jesse, Jordan, JC) executes the build.

Where work lives

Slack (one channel per client)

All client-facing communication, updates, blockers.

Craft Brain

Internal task and milestone tracking, dates, the client record.

Critical (system down / client blocked)

2 hours maximum.

High

Same business day.

Medium

Next business day.

Low

Within 3 business days.

1. 1Clinton briefs Derek using the front-end handoff brief (scope, milestones, quoted build length, locked Managed Infrastructure Start Date, client responsibilities & due dates, key contacts, technical notes).
2. 2Clinton creates the client Slack channel (or confirms it exists) and adds Derek and relevant devs.
3. 3Clinton sends the handoff message to the client introducing Derek.
4. 4Derek acknowledges in-channel and proposes kickoff times via cal.com.

1. 1In the client Slack channel, post a short welcome and what to expect.
2. 2Send the onboarding checklist: access credentials, named stakeholders, current process docs, and any assets the build needs.
3. 3Record the locked dates in Craft Brain and restate them to the client: build period, milestone dates, Managed Infrastructure Start Date.
4. 4Confirm the Kickoff Date and send the calendar invite via cal.com.
5. 5Flag in Craft Brain anything still outstanding from the client before kickoff.

Onboarding checklist (client)

• Access credentials / permissions for relevant systems
• Named point of contact + decision-maker
• Current process documentation (if any)
• Content, data, and assets the build needs
• Confirmed kickoff time

60-minute kickoff agenda

• Intro + confirm Derek as point of contact (5)
• Scope and deliverables vs SOW (10)
• Milestone schedule, build period, Managed Infrastructure Start Date (10)
• Communication plan: cadence, Slack, response times, decision-maker (10)
• Success metrics — what "good" looks like at go-live (10)
• Client responsibilities + the change-order process (10)
• Questions and next steps (5)

1. 1Run the discovery detail: current-state systems, data, integration requirements, constraints.
2. 2Translate scope into a concrete milestone plan that fits inside the locked build period.
3. 3Record milestones, owners, and dates in Craft Brain.
4. 4Share the plan with the client in Slack and get a quick written "looks right."

Communication cadence (owned by Derek)

• Daily: Derek is present in the client Slack channel and meets the response-time standards.
• Weekly: a written progress update in Slack — what shipped, what's next, blockers, dates.
• Milestone: explicit confirmation each milestone is met against the plan.

Change orders (the scope-creep fix)

Any client-requested change that extends scope goes through the change order process. Nothing in-scope changes informally. A change order is a logged, priced, written-approval document — and counts as a Client-Caused Delay under the SOW unless explicitly agreed otherwise.

Change order template

• Requested change: {{...}}
• Impact on timeline: {{...}}
• Impact on cost: {{...}}
• Options considered: {{...}}
• Client approval (written): {{name / date}}
• Updated milestones: {{...}}
• Note: client-requested change = Client-Caused Delay; does not move the Managed Infrastructure Start Date unless agreed in writing.

1. 1Internal QA against scope and success metrics. Fix before the client sees it.
2. 2Client review: walk the client through the System and have them test against agreed success metrics.
3. 3Log any issues, fix, and re-confirm.
4. 4Obtain written acceptance in Slack (or via Lovable) — the client confirms the build meets scope.

QA / Acceptance checklist

• All scope items present and working
• Tested against agreed success metrics
• Edge cases / error states handled
• Integrations verified
• Client walked through and tested
• Issues logged and resolved
• Written client acceptance recorded

Go-live checklist

• Final deployment complete
• Monitoring in place
• Training delivered (live and/or recorded)
• Documentation shared
• First-days support window set
• Build balance invoiced/collected (Stripe)
• Build marked complete in Craft Brain

1. 1Confirm the managed-infrastructure subscription is billing in Stripe from the locked Managed Infrastructure Start Date (it was scheduled at deposit in the front-end process — verify it fired).
2. 2Set ongoing expectations with the client: support channel, response times, reporting cadence, review schedule.
3. 3Confirm what managed-infrastructure scope covers (run / monitor / optimize / support) versus what would be a new build or change order.

Ongoing cadence

Support

Respond within response-time standards; all support runs through the client Slack channel.

Monitoring

Proactively watch system health; raise and resolve issues before the client notices where possible.

Monthly

System performance summary (template below), automated where possible, plus optional 30-min optimization call.

Quarterly (QBR)

60-minute business review covering results, optimization, and what's next.